1,000,000 Karma: My Reward Is a Quiet Life-Chapter 78: The Crowd Favorite, and The Heel

As he attempted to lean back on the sofa, he found a rather muscular arm suddenly resting over his shoulder. He looked back to find the sharp smirk of the fiery-spirited swordswoman staring back at him, leaning over the couch.

"That was a helluva fight there, rook!" Sylvan congratulated. "I half-expected ya to piss your pants and concede when ya got hit with that Blackout! Ha-ha!"

"Well, I’m glad I exceeded your...expectations?" Noah said with a raised eyebrow.

"Whadya think, Lamore?" Sylvan asked, looking at the elf sitting on one of the seats further to the left.

With a body wrapped in bandages even after being healed, the man that had been silent until then looked over.

Noah wasn’t exactly looking to drag the one who gave him a cold impression into the conversation.

"It was impressive," Lamore said succinctly. "Defeating Van in battle is worthy of that much praise, at least."

There was genuine surprise for him, hearing the words of respect from the callous fighter.

Noah returned the favor, "Your fight was pretty awesome, too. Those gauntlets are cool—"

"Don’t get the wrong idea," Lamore interrupted him while wiping down his metal gloves. "There’s still the chance we become opponents later on, so I don’t plan on being buddy-buddy with any of you."

Sylvan scrunched her nose, talking quietly so only Ogatrina and Noah could hear her, "And that’s why that guy totally gets on my nerves."

"Yup, same here," the goblin woman agreed.

Noah just laughed it off with a shrug, still not exactly sure how he got himself into this situation. The muscular arm of the rowdy swordswoman was still draped around his shoulder, while Ogatrina welcomed herself to the spot on the couch beside him.

’Sure, just help yourself,’ he thought, somehow missing the antics of the archer at the moment.

"You both are awfully chipper considering there’s only two fights left this round, and neither of you have been called out yet," Noah observed, looking between them.

"Ah, I can’t wait!" Sylvan said, standing straight as she held her arms over her head to stretch in complete readiness. "Watching all these fights has gotten me pumped up!

While Sylvan and Ogatrina were practically raring to go, he did his best to relax after a blood-pumping battle. If anything, he wished he could be in that comfortable bed in his suite, dozing off.

He decided to get up and explore the benefits of the VIP section. From a vast array of drinks to gourmet cuisine, there were plenty of options.

’Never been much of a drinker,’ he thought.

As he walked over to the dining area of the large, lavish room, he sat himself down a couple sets from the one that was already feasting. The shining figure in pearlescent armor had a half dozen plates on the table in front of him, chowing down as if it was his final meal.

’Woah,’ Noah could only watch in awe.

He took a seat, ordering himself a plate of spaghetti, since a heaping amount of sauce and noodles sounded like it’d hit the spot after fighting for his life.

"That was an exhilarating performance earlier. I was thoroughly impressed."

The words of praise came from the man in lavish armor a few seats down, who wiped the sauce from the corner of his mouth with a napkin.

"Oh? Thanks," Noah accepted.

"You talked about something with that man during your bout, didn’t you?" Galileo asked, looking over.

It wasn’t something he was sure anybody heard or even caught onto any words of, though he didn’t deny it, giving a slight nod, "Yeah."

"Sorry, I’m not trying to pry," Galileo assured with a warm smile. "It’s just, I have a knack for reading lips. Even through the transmitter there, I could get the gist of what you two were talking about."

"You were paying attention that closely, huh?" Noah asked.

As their conversation lingered, the chef, a middle-aged gentleman with a bristly beard, set down the plate of piping hot spaghetti in front of him. Noah dove right in, twirling his fork before shoving a heaping amount of saucy noodles into his mouth.

"I just wanted to thank you for doing that, is all. I could see it too, that Van was a man in great anguish," Galileo continued. "Even if the things he’s done simply can’t be redeemed, there’s still steps that can be taken to put some good back in the world."

Noah listened to the renowned hero’s words while eating from his plate, feeling much of the same sentiment.

"Sorry, I’m rambling on, aren’t I?" Galileo said, placing his hands together with a smile. "I just admire what you did, when you had no necessity to do so. Even if nobody else appreciates it, know I do, Noah Soul."

He didn’t say anything, only giving a nod to tell Galileo he heard him while he took in those words. As the next forkful of noodles was welcomed into his mouth, the moment the remaining competitors anxiously awaited came–

"THE THIRD BOUT OF THE QUARTER-FINALS IS SET! GALILEO VERSUS BLANK! PLEASE MAKE YOUR WAY TO THE BATTLEGROUNDS, FIGHTERS!"

"Oh, that’s me," Galileo said, looking up at the ceiling when hearing the loud voice before standing up, picking up the oddly-forged hammer that was resting by his seat. "May I be so selfish as to ask for your favor in this bout?"

Noah had just swallowed his bite, giving a thumbs-up to the overwhelmingly kind soul, "Yeah, I’ll be rooting for you out there, dude."

A hand was placed over the knightly man’s chest as he took a slight bow of respect, "Thank you. I will do my best." 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Watching the kind hero head out of the room with the robed man going an alternate path, Noah’s mind wandered, ’I wonder if that guy is also someone that’s accumulated a million "Karma"--maybe even more? I haven’t met someone like him in this world until now.’

There was no greater applause as the revered adventurer walked into the arena, waving to the crowd in appreciation. A true "hero" to those in attendance, with many having applause out of respect for the glistening figure.

"Thank you, with your support, I will bring triumph," Galileo addressed the crowd with sincerity and gratitude.

On the other end, there was nothing resembling support for the opposing competitor, who walked out with complete silence following. It was as though every single person there was simply confused by the competitor’s presence.

"Who even is that guy?" A man in the crowd asked the person beside him.

Only a shrug came from the other person, "No clue. I think he won in the first round with some technicality."

"He doesn’t even belong in the quarter-finals, does he?" Another spectator chimed in.

"Get him outta here, Galileo!"

"Yeah, knock him out!" Others joined in.